Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America
North America: Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) was 10.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America is 10.6%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.5% on the previous year and down 18.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America peaked at 20.3% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 2022.
That places North America 33rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 14.8% | — |
| 1992 | 15.8% | +6.9% |
| 1993 | 14.8% | -6.1% |
| 1994 | 13.6% | -8.2% |
| 1995 | 12.9% | -5.4% |
| 1996 | 13.1% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 12.4% | -5.3% |
| 1998 | 11.5% | -6.7% |
| 1999 | 10.7% | -7.0% |
| 2000 | 10.0% | -6.7% |
| 2001 | 11.6% | +15.8% |
| 2002 | 13.0% | +11.7% |
| 2003 | 13.4% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 12.8% | -4.9% |
| 2005 | 12.4% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 11.3% | -9.3% |
| 2007 | 11.5% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 14.1% | +22.4% |
| 2009 | 19.8% | +40.3% |
| 2010 | 20.3% | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 18.4% | -9.4% |
| 2012 | 17.4% | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 16.8% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | -13.4% |
| 2015 | 12.9% | -11.2% |
| 2016 | 11.7% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 10.5% | -10.1% |
| 2018 | 9.7% | -7.7% |
| 2019 | 9.6% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | +61.5% |
| 2021 | 10.9% | -30.1% |
| 2022 | 9.0% | -17.5% |
| 2023 | 9.0% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 10.2% | +12.5% |
| 2025 | 10.6% | +4.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +61.5% | 9.6% | 15.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.3% | 10.7% | 15.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 13.0% | 10.0% | 19.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.2% | 9.6% | 20.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.9% | 9.0% | 15.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
More work & labour data for North America
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 56.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 62.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 67.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 51.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 52.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 52.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 78.8% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 84.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 69.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 74.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America?
- Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in North America was 10.6% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 20.3% in 2010.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 2022.
- How does North America rank for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24)?
- North America ranks 33rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment.